Song "He Touched Me" Always Touches Me

Since I complained about the selection of music last Sunday, I must be fair and praise the  selection this  Sunday, although,   I am dissatisfied that only three hymns were sung,  those being  "Holy, Holy, Holy,"  "Blessed Assurance," and "He Touched Me.

I cannot sing or hear sung "He Touched Me" without being affected emotionally.  The poem does not compare as literature to those written by great hymn writers such as Issac Watts, but the message is clear and like a testimonial, similar to the message of  "He Lives,"  as I pointed out last week  --"You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.:"  It is true for you or it isn't.

William Gaither wrote "He Touched Me" in 1963.  He had written 153 songs previously but none had been big nationally.  Dozens of  artists sang it, and Elvis Presley headlined it an album in 1972 that sold more than a million albums in America and won the Grammy for him.   Gaither and wife Gloria have written a number of songs including "Because He Lives" and "The King Is Coming.:" 

                                   He touched me, Oh He touched me,
                                   And Oh the joy that floods my soul!
                                   Something happened and now I know
                                   He touched me and made me whole.

Wisconsin Conflict Could Be Harbinger of Problems to Come

I have not earlier commented about the fight over entitlements going on in Wisconsin and other states because  I have warned about this at least five times beginning last May when I wrote," The day is coming when private sector workers, who have only a shaky social security retirement to look forward to will refuse to vote more taxes and those exorbitant benefits will be history."          

On August 3 I quoted the Times, "State Barreling to the Cliff" because of its unfunded retirement obligations. Later that month I pointed out that only four states are operating in the black, and Louisiana is not one of them. In fact, Louisiana is designated as one of the seven worst state as far as finances are concerned. Local governments throughout the nation are facing bankruptcy because their workers can retire at young ages and draw benefits even greater than their salary was.  This is extreme but some workers can retire at 45 after 20 years on the job.  As the situation got worse I said on December 31 that too generous pensions mean trouble ahead, and on January 19 I posed this question which I ask again, " Have unions and cowardly politicians  brought us to our knees?"
 

Holy Cross Players Not So Holy in Football Game

Noting that Holy Cross is visiting the LSU baseball team for a three-game series brought to my mind that the   entire1942 Holy Cross backfield were officers on our ship.  They couldn't understand that I wasn't impressed when they boasted they had defeated Boston College in a football game. Heck, I didn't know Eastern colleges, much less outcomes of football games.  Today I did a little research and found out that Holy Cross won the game 55-12,  That is the most famous game played between the two schools, but not because of the score.  Boston College, heavily favored, had booked a celebration party at a club but cancelled after losing.  The club burned and 500 lost their lives.

I played touch football against the Holy Cross crew on a little island in the South Pacific.  I, who never played high school football, kept crashing into their backfield and tagging the ball carrier, upsetting them because out team was winning.  They went into a huddle and the next time I blindly crashed in, two teamed to block me, hitting me on both thighs at the same time.   They ignored the rule of no blocking below the waist, and they put me out of the game.

Promise of Easier Work Was Never Kept

Farming is hard work, physically exhausting and long, long days.  One day as summer was almost over, I was surprised to hear my dad say, "We're not going to work as hard next year as we did this year. We went to the fields before sunup and worked until after sundown, and we don't have anything to show far it. So next year we  will take it a little easier."  Next year came and we went to the fields before sunup and worked until after sundown, the same as every other year.  

One time he said children in the Methodist Orphanage had to work but not extremely hard.  Then he added  a completely fantastic unbelievable  statement.  Turning to us kids he said, "Oh, they have to work harder than you do." 

Will $100 a Barrel for Oil Satisfy Obama?

It's frustrating to be so helpless..  How often have we and many others called for more development of our oil, gas, coal,  nuclear and other energy resources  for our national security and to aid the economy.  Just two weeks ago I pointed out that ten times, from March 2010 to January of  this year, I alone had posted asking for more use  of domestic energy resources. America is helpless as long as Obama is in control and instead of promoting oil, gas and coal he wants to penalize those industries.  He and his energy czar have called for gasoline to be at least seven dollars a gallon at the pump.  No doubt, he is dancing for joy  at the disturbances in the Mideast that are  making the price of oil skyrocket.

How They Gonna Learn if They Can't Read?

Wisconsin and its school teachers are in the news today, so how are the schools faring?  Well, two-thirds of its eighth graders cannot read on a proficient level.  The answer to lack of accomplishments in school is so often to spend more money.  That has not worked in Wisconsin.  Spending per student in 1998 was $4,956, compared to $10,791 in  2009.  The 1998 figure equates to $6,546 in 2008 dollars.

If a child is a poor reader, he or she will have difficulty in all subjects and will struggle to complete high school.
That is why excellent kindergarten and first grade teachers are most vital. I remember when I was in the  second grade some kids had not learned to read well.  If a child learns to read and enjoy reading, learning becomes a pleasure rather than an unpleasant task.  Test scores compared with those of other nations show us falling behind.  We must have better schools.  Have public schools become too poor to save?

My ToughTime at the Barber Shop

Daddy dropped off at the barber shop and as my expression pleaded with him to stay with me he said something like he would be back shortly and walked away.   I entered the shop and took a seat. When a barber called "Next" I nervously climbed into the chair.  The barber shop had a glass front and I kept turning my head hopingto see my dad returning.  The barber was finished with me and dad was still absent.  I climbed out of the chair and began to walk toward the door.  Dad had not paid the barber and had not left 75 cents with me.  As I walked to the door, the barber called after me, "you gonna pay me next Tuesday," and everyone laughed.

I wasn't any more than five years old and I was frightened.  What would happen to me for failing to pay the barber?  I searched for my dad, going first to the two stores owned by my uncles.  I found daddy in a parking lot talking to some other men.  I grabbed  him and said, "You've got to go pay the barber."  He said  "in a minute" and kept talking.  It was at least 30 minutes ( it seemed like hours) before he broke away and went to the barber shop.  All of that time I was pleading with him to pay the barber before I was arrested.